Films & Schedules
- CHINA

LET THE BULLETS FLY

DIRECTOR: Jiang Wen - CHINA

In remote 1920s Warlord China, a gang of bandits, led by “Pocky” Zhang (Jiang Wen), hijack a train that happens to have the destination town’s new governor on board. When the train crashes, the lone survivors are the governor’s sleazy advisor (Ge You) and his wife (Carina Lau). Zhang, an honorable outlaw, decides to pose as the new governor and share the fortune from the hijacking with the townspeople. But ruthless mobster Master Huang (Chow Yun-Fat) aims to stop Zhang’s scheme, launching an epic battle of both wits and bullets. As action-packed as it is hilarious, Jiang Wen’s film is...

In remote 1920s Warlord China, a gang of bandits, led by “Pocky” Zhang (Jiang Wen), hijack a train that happens to have the destination town’s new governor on board. When the train crashes, the lone survivors are the governor’s sleazy advisor (Ge You) and his wife (Carina Lau). Zhang, an honorable outlaw, decides to pose as the new governor and share the fortune from the hijacking with the townspeople. But ruthless mobster Master Huang (Chow Yun-Fat) aims to stop Zhang’s scheme, launching an epic battle of both wits and bullets. As action-packed as it is hilarious, Jiang Wen’s film is a throwback to the Hong Kong action heyday of the 1980s and ’90s, with a nod to classic American westerns. The highest-grossing domestic Chinese release ever, this comic western’s gun slinging, story twists, and sharp dialogue provide a highly entertaining ride. (132 mins.)

Filmography: In the Heat of the Sun (94), Devils on the Doorstep (00), The Sun Also Rises (07), New York, I Love You (09).

MR. TREE

DIRECTOR: Han Jie - CHINA

Winner of the Jury Grand Prize at the Shanghai Film Festival, Mr. Tree is at once an offbeat character study about a village idiot who might just be a prophet, and a sly, comedic commentary on rampant urbanization in China. The film charts a year in the life of Mr. Shu (a.k.a. Tree), a man whose life allegorically mirrors the social and economic development of his hometown. Shu loses his job after a workplace accident, the start of events that offer unique insight into the ties between local leaders, families, workers, businessmen, and even the past and future. “You’ve probably...

Winner of the Jury Grand Prize at the Shanghai Film Festival, Mr. Tree is at once an offbeat character study about a village idiot who might just be a prophet, and a sly, comedic commentary on rampant urbanization in China. The film charts a year in the life of Mr. Shu (a.k.a. Tree), a man whose life allegorically mirrors the social and economic development of his hometown. Shu loses his job after a workplace accident, the start of events that offer unique insight into the ties between local leaders, families, workers, businessmen, and even the past and future. “You’ve probably never seen a film from China quite like Han Jie’s gently absurd, somewhat twisted social-romance-comedy: there’s a bit of Fellini, a hint of Jia Zhangke (the producer), and a lot that’s utterly original in this eccentrically inventive movie.”—Vancouver Film Festival (88 mins.)